Time is Silver
by 29RED
Summary: The Next Generation is sent back through time by a strange looking time-turner. They travel 25 years into the past, landing right in the middle of an Order of the Phoenix's meeting. Will they be able to prevent any changes during their stay or will they try and make them happen? (This story completely disregards The Cursed Child.) TIME TRAVEL.
1. Up to no good

The sun shun bright, high in the sky at 3:37 PM, June 21st.

The vast mass of children was just returning home after a particularly competitive and tiring game of quidditch, played in the Potter's backyard, in a field designed specifically for such purposes.

Al, James, Lily, Rose, Fred, Lorc, Lys, Dom, Louis and Scorpius all ran into the house laughing, sweating and panting, rushing to take the bathrooms in the house before the others did.

Bathed and freshly clothed, the kids quickly took over the house, some going outside, or to their bedrooms, others heading to the kitchen, craving some food, and a few others (such as James and Fred) disappearing mysteriously.

Al was walking down to the kitchen to retrieve some food for Scorpius, Lorcan and Lysander (who were currently in the occupied, in a rather vicious game of Exploding Snap), when he noticed that the door to his dad's office was ajar, which he thought rather odd, since his dad wasn't even in Britain at that moment.

He cautiously pushed the door open and relaxed slightly, finally walking all the way in.

"Guys, what are you doing here?"

James and Fred looked at him, at each other and back at him, before opening equally mischievous smiles.

"Nothing, little brother, just having a little get-together, that's all." James answered in a matter-of-fact voice, the same smile never wavering from his face.

Al raised one eyebrow suspiciously and slowly walked further into the office, his eyes moving quickly over every surface, looking for anything amiss or out of the ordinary that could indicate a prank destined for his dad's return. But everything seemed normal: every book on the shelves that he knew back and forth, every picture of friends and family, every dark arts gadget (including the foe-glass, which showed no imminent danger laying around), every paper scattered around the desk, every… Severus Snape's confidential file? _"What's that about?"_ Al wondered, frowning. He turned to his brother and cousin.

"A little get together in dad's office?"

James walked forward and put his hand on Albus's shoulder, a funeral-like expression in place.

"Yes, you see... we miss him. Things just aren't the same when dad's away." Fred left the office quietly and as soon as he did, James perked up and said cheerfully, "C'mon, we're leaving to Teddy's in half an hour. Go get ready, mate!"

Al took one last look around the office before getting out, closing the door behind him and headed for his room.

"Hey, where's the food?!" Asked Lorcan as soon as he walked in. Al rolled his eyes.

"We're leaving in half an hour, might as well eat at Teddy's." He said, flopping on his bed, next to Scorpius. Apparently, the game had ended while he was away; the smoking sheets were proof of that.

"Ugh, fine" Lys grunted. "Guess we should go and finish packing, then."

"You two go, Scor and I finished packing yesterday."

Scorpius smirked, stretching himself on Al's bed, hands locked behind his head and said, "We're not idiots, you see?"

The twins left, grumbling good naturally, leaving Al and Scor to laze about while most of the others ran around, trying to find their things that they swore had somehow crawled by themselves, hiding from their rightful owners.

It was about two hours later that everyone was (finally) flooing to Grimmauld Place, Number 12.

As Al arrived, Teddy was already there, saying "hello" and hugging every kid that popped out of his chimney.

He waited his turn, taking the time to look around at the environment. The house looked much better than he did the last time he had visited. It had belonged to his dad's godfather, and no one had stepped foot in it since 1997, according to his father. However, once Teddy had graduated, Harry had offered him the house. Teddy had refused, preferring to stay in-between houses with the Potter's and his grandma Andy, but after two years or so of dating Vic he had finally decided to move in with her. So, after a few months of intensive cleaning and disinfestation, his dad, teddy, Uncle Ron and Uncle George managed to make the house livable and extremely presentable. It seemed impossible that the same light colored, illuminated halls Al now stood in had once contained such darkness and despair. Even the portrait of the rude lady had come off the wall ("PUT ME BACK IN MY PLACE, YOU UNGRATEFUL MUDBLOOD LOVERS!") thanks to Kreacher and they could now talk freely, without need for whispers.

Al's turn came and he was embraced by Teddy, who he had always thought of as a brother. Once they had separated he clapped Al on the shoulder and took a step back, addressing all of the kids.

"So, your parents entrusted me with you so let's try and keep the causalities to a minimum during this week, okay, guys?" He threw what a supposed to be a glare at James, Fred and Louis, the known troublemakers.

"Sport-spoil." Accused Louis.

"You used to be way funnier, Edward." Said James.

"Can't believe you let Vic take the troublemaker out of you" Finished Fred.

"It's called growing up and maturing, maybe you should try it sometime."

The three of them looked at Teddy with pure horror in their faces, and James finally said, "We'd much rather stay awesome, thank you very much." He grinned impishly and took a vow.

"Well, one of these days…" Teddy paused. "What's that around your neck?"

James had straightened up and a long, silver chain with a weird hourglass had popped out of his shirt.

He hastened the chain back into his clothes, saying, "Oh, it's nothing. You know, just a lucky charm."

"James… was that a time turner?" Rose asked slowly. Everyone stared, eyes opening in surprise. Al frowned, from what he had read, time-turners had been golden, not silver. Of course, besides that, it was unmistakably a time-turner.

"No!" He said quickly.

"James?"

"No."

"James!"

"No?"

"…"

"Maybe."

"What the hell are you doing with a time turner?" Cried Dom, taking a step forward toward the boy.

"Woah. Well, you see… boy that's a tough one."

"We just wanted to take a closer look at it, maybe try it on later." Fred jumped in.

"We?" Al stepped closer as well, entering the discussion that was progressing in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place. "So that's what you were doing in dad's office?!"

"Wait!" Shrieked Dom, suddenly taking a step backwards. "Dad's office?! You mean you took that thing from Uncle Harry's office? As in the Head of Auror's Department's office? James, do you have any idea how dangerous that can be?" She pointed at the innocent looking time-turner.

Suddenly, everyone took a step back, away from the object. Even James, who was holding it by it's chain now held it at arm's length, looking at it suspiciously.

"Surely it's nothing dangerous, right?" He asked doubtfully, looking around at the others for support. "I mean, it was in dad's office, we wouldn't have anything that dangerous there, where we could walk in at any moment."

"You're not supposed to go there, you idiot!" Shouted Lily, exasperated. "As an auror's son you should know that! And as a soon to be adult, as well!"

"Besides," Rose piped in, "time-turners are always dangerous. Do you have any idea how much damage you could do by traveling through time without the proper training and knowledge to do so? You could destroy our timeline, or even cause your own death."

Fred decided to cut in and stop Rose, before she could start naming all the disastrous outcomes of using a time-turner, "Alright, alright! We get it! No messing around with stuff that could potentially destroy the universe as we know it! Geez…"

"So what do we do?" Asked Scorpius, who had kept quiet throughout the family feud.

"Give it to me, James, I'll go put it somewhere safe and when you return home you just have to put it back where you took it from and the adult don't need to know about this." Said Teddy, taking a step forward and reaching out to take the time-turner from James. "I'll go and put it upstairs, you guys can go ahead and grab a bite to eat in the kitchens, if you want."

The kids all perked up at the mention of food. As they turned to head to the kitchens, as instructed, all they heard was a "CLANK!", a "SMASH!" and a shout of "STUPID COAT HANGER!", before the sand that rose form the floor swallowed them and they knew no more.

* * *

Hi! I hope you liked the chapter, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments or if you have any questions.

I'll probably be posting a new chapter every two weeks, on friday (I put this one up today because I won't be able to, until next week).

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope to see you in the reviews section (:

All the love, M.


	2. A different time

Heavy steps echoed on the floor, making it pound just as much as Albus's head. He opened his eyes cautiously and found himself with several wands pointed at him and, as he figured once he looked around, his relatives.

They were all sprawled on the floor, some on their stomachs, some on their backs and some were already sitting up, reaching for their wands. As he looked to his side, he saw Teddy hurriedly wrestling something (presumably the time-turner) around his neck and underneath his shirt and only then reaching for his wand.

"Don't even think about it, kid." A gruff voice caught Al's attention.

He looked up, searching for the voice and his eyes got caught on the weirdest man he had ever seen in his life. He was currently going around the kids taking everyone's wand away, but Al could definitely tell that this was one battered man, if he'd ever seen one. As he walked between them there was a constant "CLUNK!" of wood, coming from his walking stick, and also a very noticeable limp. He had a mechanical eye that was going haywire and Al could have sworn… yes! As the man finally reached him and pulled his wand forcefully from him he could see it clearly. A small chunk of his nose was missing. Al had a strange mental image of someone putting this man together like a puzzle, and not being able to find the final piece to complete the nose.

As the man stepped back, both his normal and his magical eye were fixed in him, a frown taking over his face and his lip curled up in some kind of sneer, making him seem even more disfigured.

Al had the distinct impression that he knew the man. The magical eye seemed to be screaming out at him… something his father had told him… what was it?!

And suddenly he knew. And although nearing impossible in normal circumstances, adding a weird time-turner and looking at the rest of the people that had come and "welcomed" them, he knew.

"The Order of the phoenix." He murmured, in awe.

Everyone turned to him.

"That's ridiculous!" countered Rose immediately. "The Order doesn't exist anymore."

Al couldn't agree more. And yet…

"Look around." He asked.

And they all did. Their eyes moving from the battered man, to the young woman with bubble gum hair, and finally to the elderly man with a kind expression and snow hair and beard.

Teddy stared unbelievingly at the woman with shockingly pink hair and Al could barely contain his jaw that wanted to drop at the sight of Albus Dumbledore, alive and well, and most of all, not framed in a portrait.

"Oh, not good." Said Lorcan. "So not good."

"Alright, that's enough." Growled Moody. "Up! All of you! Now!"

His wand was pointed solely at Teddy, who he clearly thought was the biggest threat, seeing as he was the oldest.

Teddy remained calm, but he slowly moved in front of the children, standing between them and the raised wands. Hands up, showing his complete surrender, he addressed Moody, "Look, you can all lower your wands. Do we really seem in any way threatening or dangerous to you?"

"You have just entered extremely protected property, and some of you look remarkably alike to some people we know, which could mean a poor attempt at the polyjuice potion. So no, we will not lower our wands until we have satisfying answers proving your innocence." Moody replied coolly.

Teddy opened his mouth but apparently couldn't come up with a good enough answer because he simply nodded and sighed dejectedly, saying, "Yes, well, when you put it in that way…"

James took a step forward and clapped his hand on Teddy's shoulder saying enthusiastically, "You're doing great, buddy!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" snapped Dom. "This is all your fault!"

James gave her a look of pure indignation.

"It most certainly is…! But still, if Teddy wasn't so clumsy…"

"You're not blaming this on me, you…!"

"We don't have time for this!" Shouted Moody, effectively stopping the argument. "Follow." He led the way to the kitchen, where the rest of the Order was awaiting to know what had caused the noise that had interrupted their meeting.

Ignoring the many confused glances thrown in his way, Dumbledore mentioned to the big wooden table in the center of the kitchen, saying, "Please, take a seat."

"But… they're kids." A man that Al immediately recognized as Sirius Black (because of pictures his father had shown him), stated dumbfounded.

"Excellent detective skills, Black." Said another man, in a mocking voice. This one, Al recognized not by photos but by the portrait sitting in the headmistress's office, at Hogwarts. He hadn't changed much: apart from a slight sneer, his face was expressionless, hidden by a lank curtain of black hair. He had only seen this man show an emotion different than derivatives of anger once; when he had learned of Al's middle name.

Sirius glared and was about to rebuke when someone who Al knew much better than either the two man intervened. She appeared much younger, and her eyes were still on full brightness, she had yet to lose a son. But clearly Molly Weasley mastered the art of putting everyone in line even in this time, as she immediately cut Sirius off before he could rebuke while simultaneously ordering Moody, "Alastor, put your wand down! For Merlin's sake, they're children!"

"We're not certain of that, as of yet, Molly," started Dumbledore, although he didn't seem overly concerned "but we can lower our wands for now. They are wandless and, I'm sure, about to present us with identities, proof of those and a reasonable explanation as to why they ended up here."

He said the last part a bit forcefully, to the time-travelers, leaving no room for them to object.

Teddy, being the oldest, felt that he should take responsibility and deal with it, seeing as there was no getting out of it. Not without the Order's help, anyway, and for that he had to give them some answers, which could be extremely dangerous. One wrong thing said could have a huge impact on the future.

He quickly scanned the room. There were a lot of Order members. Too many. Sirius was alive but the Order seemed to be fully in the active, given the plans scattered all over the tables. So, that put them somewhere between 1995 and 1996. He couldn't be sure, since this time-turner differed so much from the ones he had heard about but as they landed in the same place he felt it was safe to assume that the date was the same, as well, (minus the year, obviously) as the one they had traveled from. From a quick glance at grandpa Weasley, which showed no bandages on his neck, he figured he was probably right. So, the date was June 21st, 1995. They had left on June 21st of 2020. That meant they had traveled 25 years to the past. 25 years. He had paled considerably, his hair going from brown to a nasty shade of green and a quick look at the others showed he wasn't the only one to have reached that conclusion.

He was wallowing in despair when someone interrupted him.

"You're a metamorphmagus!" remarked Tonks, excitedly. "That's so cool! I'm one too!"

And if as to prove it, her hair quickly went through all the colours one could imagine and some they couldn't. Despite everything, Teddy couldn't help but smile and say, "Yes, I know."

A lot of people stared and raised their eyebrows and Teddy cursed himself for letting that slip out. It wasn't common knowledge that Tonks was a metamorphmagus. As Rose saw several of them open their mouths to point out that fact, she quickly said, "We need some time to talk among ourselves."

"Absolutely not!" said Moody in an outraged voice.

"I agree with Alastor, they could just be trying to get their stories right. Clearly that wasn't their initial plan." Said a man that Albus identified from some pictures as Remus Lupin. He chanced a sideways look at Teddy and saw him positively drinking in all he could on his father, not that Al could blame him, really; he, himself couldn't help that his eyes were often straying to Dumbledore, although it wasn't quite the same thing.

"You got that right." said James in an undertone.

"Just five minutes, okay? And then you'll have the answers you want." Teddy promised. "Please."

Everyone looked towards Dumbledore who, after thinking for a moment, consented to the condition. The kids moved to a more secluded corner of the kitchen, closely watched by the Order members, who seemed to be expecting an escape attempt at any moment.

"So," started Teddy. "I know most of you have reached a conclusion as to when we are."

"Hum... no, not really..." countered Fred.

"For Merlin's sake, can't you pick up on simple things, Weasley?" asked Scorpius, speaking for the first time since "the accident".

Fred opened his mouth but was immediately elbowed on the side by Lysander.

"No time for arguments now."

"Let's just figure out what to do." Said Rose, as usual, in a practical manner. "Obviously they will ask questions that we won't be able to answer without jeopardizing the whole future as we know it."

"But we have to tell them _something,_ I mean, they're already pretty suspicious of us." Remembered Lily.

"Yes, but we don't have to tell them _everything_ , right?" Asked Fred.

"Yeah, we can just tell them what they really need to know and try to put it in a way that doesn't completely destroy time and space as we know it?" Suggested James.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Said Dom.

"She's right, if they suspect we're withholding anything they might just give us to the aurors." Said Scorpius.

"Well, so what do we do?" Asked Louis, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Al, any thoughts?" asked Dom.

Al had kept quiet, blocking his relative's voices out, trying to think what the better solution would be, seeing as in this case there wasn't exactly a perfect solution, one that could solve everything. He finally answered, "A few, but no guarantees they will work."

"Well, we'll be called shortly so, let's hear it." Said Lorcan.

Al nodded and proceeded, "First we get rid of some of them. The less people who know about us, the better."

"Agree." Said James, and the rest of them all nodded to show their agreement.

"And about the actual questions?" asked Lily.

"I'm fairly certain that should we tell them that we're from the future, most of them, like Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, even Moody, would back up a bit, as they know how dangerous it could be to obtain information from the future. But, of course, we'll still have to give them our identities and most likely give away some information from our time." Said Al. "The thing is, if we manage to contact our parents, they'll probably find a way to fix most of the mess we've made and will probably do here, even if they have to alter some memories... maybe... hopefully."

"That's a lot of ifs, mate." Said Fred.

"And even if they can erase out mess, who's to say we can actually contact them? There are a good twenty five years standing between us." Reminded James.

"Yes, but we'll have their help." Said Rose. "Snape, Dumbledore and Sirius... I'm sure they can get their hands on loads of books about time-travel! And besides," she continued, ignoring James's and Fred's groans at the thought of having to read books while on summer vacation. "Dumbledore and Snape both invented their own spells, maybe they can create one that will enable us to make contact with the future."

"And also..." started Al hesitatingly. "I feel like I know something about that time-turner."

"How so? Isn't it just a time-turner?" Questioned Lily, confused.

Al shook his head and answered, "No, Lil, regular time-turners were golden, and they couldn't travel for more than just a few hours." He explained. "But anyways, I can't answer anything yet, I don't know exactly what I know, I can't remember, nor can I remember how I know it." He finished, earning himself some disappointed looks from the others.

"Well, that's something at least. I'm sure it'll come back to you, sometime soon." Said Scorpius, offering him a small smile.

"So," intervened Lorcan. "We have to deci..."

"Time's up, kids." Called Sirius from the other side of the kitchen.

"Well, guess we're going with Al's plan. It's the best we have... Hopefully they won't ask too many questions." Said Louis, finally pushing himself off the wall.

"Ready to talk?" Asked Tonks, once they reached the Order. It looked like they hadn't moved at all, just kept watching them throughout their conversation.

The kids all exchanged looks before nodding together.

"Very well, then." Said Dumbledore, smiling and clapping his hands once. "If everyone could take a seat, we shall start right away."

* * *

There you have it, the second chapter, a tiny bit longer than the first. I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought in the reviews, if you like the course the story is taking, and so on. I appreciate every single one of them! It really makes my day when I see I have new reviews, so thank you very much to those who left them :)

Some quick side notes:

1 -English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes you find, please let me know so I can correct them as soon as possible.

2 -If any of you would like to offer your services as beta-reader for this fic then please let me know, send me a pm and I would be very, very grateful!

3 -I'm trying to make the characters as believable as possible, and concerning the next gen, I'm trying to portraying them in the way I imagine them to be (keep in mind that I'm completely disregarding The Cursed Child), if you think it's too far off, I apologize but it's how I see them.

4 -If you find any mistakes concerning the actual story and/or the original hp plot (i.e., chronological mistakes) please let me know as well.

And that's about it! Don't forget to follow, review and mark this as a fave, if you enjoyed it so far and would like to know where it goes and I will (hopefully) "see you" in two weeks!

All the love, M.


	3. Introductions

"Actually, professor, before we start we would like to ask you for a favour." Said Teddy, and the Order stopped as they were, already moving to retake their seats.

"A favour?!" Interrupted Mad-Eye, before Teddy could say anything else. "Who do you think you are, boy?! You don't get to ask for favours!"

"Alastor, please." Dumbledore raised his hand, asking for calm. "Let us at least hear his request before we make any decisions."

Teddy briefly glanced at Moody before turning to Dumbledore and nodding.

"Whatever we say here will be extremely private and dangerous. It can affect a lot of people and the world in general. With that being said, we would like to minimize as much as possible the number of people who will listen. So, with your authorization, we would like to talk only to some of you, mostly those we trust the most."

"That is a fair request, as long as there is space for objection, should anyone have one with a good cause." Said the headmaster, waiting for Teddy to nod his agreement as well, before continuing. "I assume you will be the one responsible for choosing those who stay?"

"Yes, I will." Said Teddy. He extended his hand towards Snape, who was currently holding his wand, and said, "I'm in the middle of about thirty fully trained wizards, may I please have my wand back?"

"Oh, come now, Severus! Surely you don't think the boy to be foolish enough to try and attack in these conditions?" Asked Lupin, gesturing to the other members, when Snape made no move to return the wand to the boy.

"It only takes one spell to kill, Lupin, surely you know that." Snape answered, cooly.

"They are children, Severus." Said Arthur, calmly.

"That," Said the potions master, finally extending the wand to Teddy, after a nod from Dumbledore. "remains to be seen."

Teddy pushed down the urge to roll his eyes, somehow sensing that wouldn't land him in Snape's good graces, and instead lifted his wand very slowly, aware that most of the Order members had their own wands out and trained on him. He merely waved his wand and immediately put it down, not wanting to tempt anyone to actually curse him.

Red capital letters surged in the air and arranged themselves at a fast pace, forming the list of names that Teddy desired to stay: Alastor Moody, Albus Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva Mcgonagall, Molly Weasley, Tonks, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape and Sirius Black.

Teddy turned to his cousins and asked, "Any of you disagree with any of these names?"

Two people raised their hand: James and Fred.

"Yes, Fred?" Asked Teddy, sighing.

"Well, I apologize but I don't agree with you." Said the red-haired boy. "Alastor Moody has been extremely hostil towards us ever since we got here."

Tonks snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth to try and stop the giggles from coming out, but Moody glared at her nonetheless, as well as at the boy, while some of the others laughed quietly.

Moody opened his mouth to set the kid straight but James pronounced himself as well, and, with a rather serious expression said, "Indeed, Frederick. And I don't know if I'd want that kind of negativity here. It might make me feel unwelcome."

"Alright, shut up, you two." Said Teddy, rolling his eyes. "Does anyone have a real objection?"

They all shook their heads.

"And I direct the same question to you." Said Dumbledore, turning to his colleagues. They all shook their heads as well. Obviously those who were to leave were rather curious about the kids, but if it truly was as dangerous as they said, they understood. If they were needed, Albus would call for them.

"Very well, then. Meeting adjourned. Those of you whose name is not on the list may go about your assignments and we will meet again soon, should anything come up."

The room cleared until only the time travelers and the selected few members of the Order were present.

"Please, everyone, take a seat." Instructed Dumbledore, and they all sat. The Order of the Phoenix on one side, the travelers on the other.

"Now, I believe some explanations are in order." Started Dumbledore. "Please, begin as you see fit, Mr.…?"

"Teddy. Just Teddy for now, sir."

The old wizard nodded and with a fluid hand gesture motioned for Teddy to proceed.

"I'm not really sure how to start this." He cleared his throat, nervously. "I assume today is the 21st of June, 1995?"

"Obviously." Answered Snape, expressionless.

"Well, you see…" He looked at the others for reassurance but all he got was nervous glances and shrugs of shoulders, except for James and Fred, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "We're from the future. 25 years in the future, to be exact."

Silence welcomed his statement for several moments as they seemed to take what he said into consideration.

"You're joking." Said Tonks eventually, frowning with a clearly suspicious expression. She was evidently not the only one who seemed to think that. Eyebrows had risen and mouths couldn't seem to form words.

"I assure you, I'm not. Just a while ago you thought we had failed at polyjuice because some of us have similarities to people you know, from this time. Well, there's your explanation, we are related do them, as descendants."

"Oh! So does that mean you're Harry's son, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Al and all the Order members turned to look at the boy, who sat near one of the ends of the table. The boy was slightly different than Harry but it was obvious that they were related. He had the same eyes, although no apparent need for glasses, so they stood out even more than Harry's. His hair was the same shade but not nearly as untamable. And he was healthier than Harry had been at 14, slightly taller and a bit more filled in, although not much, but that was just part of the Potter curse. He was a rather handsome boy.

Molly clearly wanted a confirmation, so Al cleared his throat and replied softly. "Yes, I am."

"So am I" Intervened James, grinning draping an arm on the back of his brother's chair. "And much more interesting at that, seeing as I'm the first born. I mean, Al's cute, but no one really cares about the second."

"I beg to differ." Snapped Dom.

"And I'm clearly dad's favorite." He went on as if Dom hadn't interrupted.

"That's debatable." Said Al and Lily.

Most of the Order just watched the exchange with a smile. If they really were Harry's children then they looked like amazing kids, clearly Harry had done a great job.

"Wait," Said Sirius, anxious to know more about his godson's future. "So you three are his children? Is there another one?"

"Nah, I guess they were so horrified by Lily they decided not to risk it again." Explained James, in a serious manner. Sirius was grinning from ear to ear, this kid was just like James! And the little, redhead girl, she was even named Lily.

"Or maybe they finally had the child they'd always wanted and decided to stop instead of trying for another, as they'd seen what kind of failed attempt they could get." Retorted Lily, looking at her brother pointedly.

The Order kept looking as the siblings glared at each other, most of them with amused smiles, except Molly who seemed beyond happy. She had been wondering who could be the lucky girl Harry had married but now she was certain it was her daughter. The red hair, the hazelnut brown eyes and the way the young girl dealt with her older brother, left her no doubt and from a sideways glance at her husband she knew he could see it too.

"Alright, let's just get the introductions out of the way before you too have a go at each other." Suggested Lor.

"Who would like to go first?" Asked Dumbledore, eyes twinkling madly.

"Oh, very well, I'll go!" Said James in an exasperated voice, as soon as Dumbledore had finished talking, standing up. "No need to push me into the spotlight, geez!"

"Can you even reach the door handle with such a big head?" Asked Dominique, clearly not amused, unlike others.

"Doesn't matter, I have people who open them for me." He replied, sending her a winning smile.

"Are you sure they're not opening them for Louis and you just happen to be passing by as well?" She countered, pointing to her brother who had icy blue eyes like hers, short blond hair and the general charm of a part veela.

"As I was saying," James proceeded, raising his voice and grinning when a few laughs escaped the others. "my name is James Sirius Potter…"

"Oh dear." Muttered McGonagall, while Dumbledore chuckled, having heard her, Snape glared and Christmas seemed to have arrived earlier for Sirius.

"That's not very nice, Professor, I'm wounded." The boy said, putting a hand over his heart. "Anyway, as I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," he continued, sending a fake glare at McGonagall, earning him a very real one from her, "I'm 16, going into my 6th year at Hogwarts as a Gryffindor and I'm the first of the Potter children. Bro, feel like going next?" He asked, sitting down and turning to Al.

McGonagall sighed. She could immediately tell that James was trouble. How could he not be? With a name like that, the kid had his fate sealed from the moment he was born. Unlike Sirius, she wasn't all that thrilled at the idea of him, and especially, of teaching him. She had thought that after the Weasley twins, she could finally have some well-deserved peace, but clearly that would not be the case. And to make things worse, from what she could see, the boy they called Fred seemed to be his partner in crime. No, this did not bode well for her. But even then, she couldn't even begin to think about retirement, not while there were Potters at Hogwarts. She would admit to no one but herself that she had always had a soft spot for them. After all, things were never boring with Potters around, that she knew for certain and now, she had three generations as proof.

She directed her full attention to the younger one, extremely curious about the boy who seemed so unlike his brother and so like his father.

He opened his mouth to start talking but was immediately stopped by James.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You have to stand up!"

"I'd rather not, I'm not nearly as presumptuous as you are, thank you very much." And ignoring the affronted look sent his way, he proceeded, "I'm Al, I'm 14 and…"

But again he was interrupted. This time, by Sirius, "Al? Short for what?"

"Alan." James answered.

Fred chuckled and said, "Alvin."

"Alfie."

"Albert."

"Oh, Albert is too precious!" James said, grinning like mad. "We're using it!"

Al groaned and said, "Please don't." He knew his brother and cousins, once they got something started it would stick, possibly for years.

"Oh, Albert, you're just talking nonsense now, little brother."

Fred shook his head piteously and said, "Poor, old Bert."

"Guys, come on, cut it out." Intervened Louis. "Bertie already has enough going on without you two being prats."

Most of the others laughed but still directed inquisitive stares at Al, who rolled his eyes at James and answered softly, "It's short for Albus."

Everyone looked extremely confused at the confession. No one actually knew that much concerning Harry's and Dumbledore's relationship, but one thing they knew for certain was that it surpassed that of headmaster/pupil, but for the boy to actually name his son after the man, something else must have happened in-between the present and future.

If one looked close enough, they could see Dumbledore's eyes filling with water, pure affection for that boy and his father coursing through his very core.

"And what house are you on?" Asked McGonagall, more curious than she let on.

Al felt James briefly touching his back as he opened his mouth and said, "I'm in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?!" Sirius gaped, and many eyebrows had risen around the room, including Snape's. "That's not possible. You're a Potter, and Harry's son!"

"Well, we learn to live with it." James joked, but his eyes were ice, directed at his dad's godfather, who clearly missed it and opened his mouth to argue. James immediately interrupted before the man could say anything that could've hurt his brother. After all, just from a sideways glance at Al, he could see he had become somewhat more subdued. "Anyway, Al's not the only Slytherin in the family, Molly was one as well."

Mrs. Weasley immediately perked up, and with her eyes sparkling excitedly she asked, "Who is Molly?"

"She's Uncle Percy's and Aunt Audrey's daughter, but she's not here. They're on vacation in Greece." Answered Rose, to her grandma's and grandpa's delight: Percy would come back! "Anyway, Lil?"

Lily nodded and started, "Right, well, I'm Lily, I'm 12 and I'm in Gryffindor." Sirius nodded approvingly, receiving a well angled elbow to the ribs by Lupin.

"So, who's your mother?" Asked Tonks.

"Oh, isn't it obvious?" cut Mrs. Weasley before any of the kids could answer. "It's Ginny, isn't it?!"

James grinned at his grandma and nodded his head, to her ultimate delight.

Most of the room was taken by surprise. Harry and Ginny weren't close. Well, not yet, at least. Molly clapped her hands happily and rushed the others into presenting themselves, wanting to get to know the rest of them, who were clearly her grandchildren.

No one stepped forward, so Dom looked at her brother who nodded. She sighed and said, "Guess we'll go next. I'm Dominique. DOMINIQUE. No Dom. No Dommie. No Nick or Nicky. Dominique. Got it?" She asked threateningly.

"C'mon, Dom," Whined James. "Your name is waaay too long. I can't say it without getting distracted halfway."

"That doesn't say much. You can't say sky without getting distracted halfway." Teddy pointed out, quite unnecessarily, as James had already stopped listening, in favor of playing with some loose blank piece of parchment on the table.

Lys stared amused for a few moments before saying to the Order in general, "So, the best theory we've came up with so far is that because James was uncle Harry's and aunt Ginny's first child, they didn't know exactly how to pick his up, so they dropped him on his head way too many times."

James glared as the others laughed and said forcefully, "Moving on…"

"Right, as I was saying, Dominique, 17, Gryffindor."

"My turn? Hi, I'm Louis. Dom's brother. I'll be 16 soon, so I'm going into my 6th year along with Jamie and Freddie, except I'm in Ravenclaw. Also, we have an older sister, Victoire. Oh, and our parents are Bill and Fleur, who I think some of you know already? Maybe?"

"Fleur?" Mrs. Weasley frowned. "The name does ring a bell, but I'm not seeing who…?"

"Fleur Delacour was a participant in the Triwizard Tournament. She was chosen to run for Beauxbatons." Enlightened Dumbledore. "Who's next?"

"Oh! Me! Me! Pick me!" Shouted Fred, waving his hand in the air and jumping excitedly in his chair.

Dumbledore chuckled and waved his hand in Fred's direction, indicating that he could proceed.

"Yes!" He stood, just like James had done. "I'm Fred, the second. I'm 16 years old, Gryffindor, and prank master, along with my boys, James and Louis and Roxanne, who's my twin sister and also a Gryffindor. By the way," He interrupted himself, turning to Sirius and Remus and extending his hand, "honored to meet you, big fan of your work." And after shaking hands with a very self-pleased Sirius and with Remus, who was trying not to look too proud of himself, he continued, leaving the Order members extremely confused, "And my parents are Angelina Johnson and George Weasley." He finally sat down after applauses and catcallings from James and Louis and many "Oh, stop it!" and fake blushes on his part.

Lorcan and Lysander followed.

"Hi, I'm Lorcan, this is my twin brother, Lysander. We're 14, going to our 5th year in Ravenclaw and our parents are Luna Lovegood and Rolf Scamander."

"I've never heard of Luna." Commented Tonks. "So, technically you're not related?"

"Technically not, but we spent most of our time at the Potters or the others and vice-versa." Explained Lys. "And also, our mum is Lil's godmother."

"Really? How come I've never heard of her?" Asked Sirius curiously.

"They don't know each other yet, I don't think. They'll start hanging out this year, and become closer in the next two years or so." Answered Rose.

"And who are you, dear?" Asked Mrs. Weasley kindly.

"I'm Rose Weasley. I'm 14 and I'm in Ravenclaw. I also have a younger brother, Hugo."

"Are you Ron's daughter?" Remus asked, smiling kindly at the girl. He knew Fred wouldn't have a son and not name him George, like his twin brother had done. He also knew Charlie, and could hazard a guess that he wouldn't be having kids anytime soon and if he did, they probably wouldn't be as Weasley-alike as Rose, as he was fairly certain Charlie was gay.

"Yes, I am." She confirmed, smiling at him. "And Hermione's."

"Oh, thank God!" Cried Mrs. Weasley, clapping excitedly. "Finally, those two have been dancing around each other practically ever since they met."

Some of those who knew what she was talking about nodded their heads in fond agreement.

"So, when do they get together?" Asked Sirius.

"At the greatest time possible. Right in the middle of the war." Answered Fred, laughing.

"Yeah, but first my dad will date Lavender Brown." Reminded Rose, pulling a face. She'd met the woman and didn't like her at all.

"Oh dear, I bet Hermione won't be thrilled with that." Said Tonks. She had yet to meet the girl, but if they had really been dancing around each other, she knew that wouldn't go down well with Hermione.

"No, she was not." Agreed James, laughing. "She made Uncle Ron sleep in the couch for 2 weeks, after he named Rose."

"Why?" Asked Mr. Weasley.

"Well, it was Uncle Ron who filled in the papers for Rose, and they hadn't decided on a middle name. So he thought it would be incredibly funny to name her Rose Lavender." Said Louis. "Needless to say, Aunt Hermione wasn't very happy with him."

"She did get her revenge, though." Intervened Lily. As the Order turned inquisitive eyes on her, she proceeded. "When Hugo was born, he was supposed to be named Hugo William, but Aunt Hermione changed the papers last minute and called him Hugo Viktor, after Viktor Krum."

"Krum, the Bulgarian seeker?" inquired Arthur.

"Yeah, he was also in the Triwizard, and he had a thing for my mum, and my dad was incredibly jealous." Enlightened Rose. "Sometimes I think they only had Hugo so that mum could get revenge."

"Who's next?" Asked Moody, wanting to cut these introductions short. He was much more interested in how they'd gotten here and the war outcome, although, seeing as all of their parents seemed to be well and alive, including Potter, he knew their side had come out victorious.

The kids looked around, there were only two people who had yet to introduce themselves: Teddy and Scorpius.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the metamorphmagus, urging him to go first but Teddy immediately shook his head.

Al watched the exchange and the slightly defeated look on Scorpius face, although he concealed it quite well and, being seated next to him, pressed his leg against the blonde's underneath the table, discreetly, so no one would notice. Scorpius glanced at him for mere seconds before returning his look at the table in front of him, although Al could discern the softer look that had come over his face and the small tug on his upper lip, which indicated he was trying not to smile.

Scorpius gathered his courage and cleared his throat, effectively (and regretfully), attracting all the attention to himself, and said, "I'm Scorpius Malfoy." He said no more, knowing he would be interrupted. And sure enough, to no one's actual surprise, Sirius stepped in.

"Malfoy? Why would a Malfoy have come here with Potters and Weasleys?" He questioned, sending a distrustful glare at the boy. He wasn't the only one, although most of the looks Scorpius was receiving weren't distrustful per say, more like confused.

"I was with them when we were transported back in time." He replied, trying to keep the "isn't it obvious?" edge of his voice. He already wasn't a big fan of Sirius, after the way he acted towards Al.

Moody decided to pronounce himself, barking, "You know full well what he meant kid, don't play smart with us!" He too was glaring with suspicious at the blonde boy. He knew Lucius Malfoy had a son, Draco, and he also knew the Death Eater would take it upon himself to instill in his son his own beliefs, just like his father had done to him, and probably, just like Draco would have done to Scorpius. Just because they had won the war didn't mean another wouldn't start; there would always be people who stood by the dark side.

Al glanced at Scorpius, catching his eye and asking without words if he needed him to intervene. Scorpius shook his head minutely and turned to Moody again, his eyes cold as ever and his face expressionless.

"I don't think it's any of your business who I spend my time with." Scorpius answered.

Al's face was as expressionless as Scorpius, but should one know where to look they would see the signs of anger. He had firmly set his eyes on the hard surface of the table and the only thing that spoke of his fury, besides the blazing flame in his down casted eyes, were his hands, clasped tightly on his lap.

"Whatever." Sirius mumbled, Moody was glaring fiercely at the boy. "Go on kid, you're the only one left." He said to Teddy.

The ones who had nothing against Scorpius didn't bother to argue with Sirius, sometimes he could act extremely childish, and that would cost them time. They should first and foremost understand what had happened and if there was a way to revert it, and no matter how curious they were, to ensure that the future remained unscathed was their top most priority.

Teddy stared at Sirius for a moment and then looked at Scorpius, a concerned look written on his face. The blonde merely nodded, indicating he should proceed. He was slightly hurt, but after receiving the same treatment from so many people over the course of his life he supposed he should have known better.

He briefly looked around, the Order's attention was now on Teddy. He took advantage of this and quietly scooted closer to Al, placing a hand on top of the boy's. He knew it had taken him a lot of Al not to intervene. He also knew the only reason he hadn't was because he had asked him not too, and eventually that reason would lose its power.

"Alright, well, I'm Teddy Lupin." He introduced himself, taking care to notice the paleness of his dad's face. "I'm 22 years old, I was in Gryffindor at Hogwarts and now I'm an auror."

"That's rich." muttered Sirius, trying hard not to grin at his best friend. "And your mum?"

Instead of answering, Teddy sent him a half smile and then turned his hair red, blue and purple, before returning it to its normal state. Sirius was now smiling like a lunatic, sitting between his pale best friend and his gobsmacked cousin.

"Oh yes, definitely rich."

* * *

Hi! Hope you liked this chapter! Chapter number 5 will hold more answers, I promise, and hopefully the actual plot will start to unravel, but for now bear with me through introductions and such.

Thank you so much to all of those who reviewed and followed, or marked this story as a favourite, I really can't thank you enough. Please continue doing so if you like the story and make my day a bit brighter :)

Hope you're having/had a great day!

All the love, M.


	4. Long-awaited meetings

Dumbledore looked around the room. Lupin was looking at his son with an odd expression on his face, unlike Tonks, whose hair had been through pretty much every vibrant colour, ever since hearing about her offspring. Sirius was clearly happier than he had been in months, looking between James and Teddy. Molly seemed to be bursting to talk to her grandchildren. He looked at his fellow teachers. Severus was glaring openly at James, who, despite not showing it physically, mentally was extremely alike the first James Potter, Severus tormentor.

It was Minerva who expressed herself to him, in a low voice, "Albus, I, for one, would like to go and congratulate Remus and Nymphadora. Perhaps we should all take a few moments to converse among ourselves?"

He smiled and nodded at her suggestion, before rising and speaking clearly to the room, "Now that we have introductions out of the way, why don't we all take some time to talk between ourselves, before we discuss what has brought you here and how we can help?"

Almost everyone immediately nodded enthusiastically. Some of the Order members wanted some time to discuss what they had learned so far while others wanted to meet the children. Severus and Moody sent his dirty glares, both wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. In their opinion, Albus was taking too much joy in the situation.

"Well then, please take the time until dinner and we can continue afterwards." The headmaster suggested.

Again, they all acquiesced and suddenly there was noise everywhere of people moving around. Almost everyone went to Remus and Tonks, in order to congratulate them, before anything else.

The table cleared. After the Order members got up, so did the time-travelers: James, Fred and Louis went to meet with Sirius, Dom went to Teddy and Lily and Rose parted slightly, and had gone to talk in a more secluded corner.

"Let's get out of here." Lys muttered to his twin, Al and Scorpius. Unnoticeably, they left the kitchen and travelled to the upstairs level, quietly, remembering the screeching portrait of Sirius's mother.

 **7pm - Second floor, Bedroom**

The floor was as deserted as the first, apart from the kitchen, of course. They quickly entered a room, occupied only by two single beds, side by side, a huge, sad wardrobe, which took over the entire wall opposed to the beds and an old wood desk, which appeared to have been caressely tossed into one side of the room.. Al could only hazard a guess at how much work his dad and uncles had put into turning this house into Teddy's current one.

They settled into the room, as comfortably as possible, in a room as uninviting as that. Lys and Lorc sat on one of the beds, while Al lounged on the other one, leaving Scorpius to sit by the end of it.

"So…" Started Lorc. "That was a huge disaster."

Scorpius snorted, running a hand through his short, blond hair.

"To some of us, anyway." He said. "It's refreshing to know that prejudices never change."

"I knew Sirius was never the most open-minded person but dad never said he was this bad…" Muttered Al.

"Well," Started Lorc. "He _was_ his deceased godfather… you couldn't expect him to tell you all the bad things about him, could you?"

Al simply shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter, we just have to search our way out of this, it's not like they will remember anything, anyway."

"I don't know Al." Said Scorpius, hesitatingly. "Maybe this isn't so bad."

"You mean being hated by the Order of the Phoenix?"

"No, I mean… this is a great opportunity. Look at your brother, he gets to know the Marauder's. And Teddy gets to meet his parents." Scorpius explained. "And you get to talk, in person, to Dumbledore."

Al frowned and said, "Why would I want that? Or Teddy, or James? It'll just make it hurt more when we leave."

"Or, you can make some memories with these people, enjoy while we're here. And even if it hurts leaving, it'll be better than constantly wondering what it would have been like if you gave it a chance, and got to know them." Said Lysandre, his voice solemn.

Al opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by three knocks on the door. They all exchanged looks before Lorcan shrugged and called out for the person to enter.

The door opened and Albus Dumbledore walked through, smiling kindly at the boys, his eyes stalling a little on Al.

 **7pm - Kitchen**

As soon as Dumbledore had finished talking, members of the Order got up and went to Remus and Tonks.

Sirius was already there and quickly hugged his glowing cousin and Remus afterwards, clapping him on the back and quietly saying in his ear, "Don't freak out, Moony." Next came the Weasleys, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Moody and Kingsley. Kingsley congratulated them both, before turning and striking a conversation with Snape, who had been watching the commotions with an almighty glare.

Dumbledore and McGonagall quickly said their part, smiling happily at the not yet founded couple. Their thoughts were the same: if anyone deserved a normal, happy life, was Remus. Moody, on the other hand, congratulated Tonks on her son, before directing a much harder stare at Remus. It was no secret that ever since joining the Aurors, Tonks had become his protégé, and thusly, he was quite protective of her.

"I hope you take good care of her Lupin." He said, shaking the still dumbfounded werewolf's hand much harder than needed.

Molly was clearly ecstatic, pulling them both into a bear hug and crying about how happy and proud they must be of their son, who was clearly a good boy.

Tonks nodded and smiled politely, while chancing a sideways look at Remus, the man had a hard expression on his face, and his amber eyes glowed with something she didn't understand. She was distracted from her observations as Dumbledore cleared his throat.

The man had his eyes fixed on Remus, clearly understanding the metamorphmagus predicament, as he said, "Why don't you take some much deserved time away from the rest of us and retreat to the drawing room to have a chat? Maybe take your son with you and get to know each other better… within boundaries."

Tonks said nothing but her eyes expressed her obvious gratitude to the Hogwarts Headmaster. Seeing as Remus wouldn't make the first move, she sighed and gently pressed a hand to his back, urging him to move and murmuring, "C'mon." She briefly stopped on her way, in front of Teddy, who was leaning on one wall of the kitchen, talking to Dom. He stopped as he saw his parents approaching and pushed himself into a fully standing position.

"Teddy." Tonks called, slightly nervous.

"Yes?"

"Would you come and talk with us for a bit?"

The boy stopped and considered both of his parents, before nodding. "I will meet you in the drawing room in a couple of minutes, alright?"

Tonks smiled at him, her hair turning blue for just some seconds to match his and left, dragging Remus by the wrist.

"Great." Teddy turned to Dom, sighing. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"How about you try and get to know them? Enjoy the time you have with them, albeit limited?" The girl suggested.

"How do I get to know them? I can't just start asking stuff, they'll find it weird that I'm talking to them as if I never knew them." He said.

"Teddy, be that as it may, we can't leave things like this. We have altered the future just by traveling through time. Chances are, we'll have to erase their memory if and when we find a way to go back. So, the only thing I can tell you, is make the best of the time you have. A lot of people would give everything to be in your shoes, even Uncle Harry, and you know it."

Teddy considered her words and nodded, smiling at the girl.

"Thanks." He said, hugging her. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a very difficult conversation to attend."

He left Dom, who joined James and the others and moved to the kitchen door. As we was walking by, he passed through Rose and Lily, who were talking quietly. Lily seemed extremely upset. He stared and was starting to make his way to them, in order to console his god sister, before he saw Rose shaking her head negatively in his way, indicating that he should go. He hesitated, but finally nodded and kept walking to his destination, leaving Rose to fix the issue by herself.

"Lily…" Rose said, gently pulling her cousin to a few disregarded chairs, near the wall where they were standing. "It'll be okay, we'll find our way back!"

"You don't know that." The smaller girl said quietly, clearly fighting off tears.

"I can't believe you're being like this!" Rose exclaimed, punching her cousin jokingly on the shoulder. "You, who never back down from an adventure! And this is surely the biggest one any of us have ever been in! Can you imagine how mad Hugo, Roxy, Lucy, Molly and Vic will be because they couldn't be here with us?"

"And I can't believe you, of all people, are calling this an adventure." Lily said, much more amused, grinning at Rose.

"Well, now that I've managed to cheer you up, I have to be honest. I'm not a big fan of this. And I will be killing your brother once we get back to our time."

Lily laughed before sobering up a little.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to add even more to this situation by being a total pain about this." She said. "It's just, we just got here and things are already going wrong. And Al is hurt because of them. And we'll probably have to answer about the war and tell them who died. And we're nowhere near of finding a way to go back to our time… and to my parents."

Rose paused. She couldn't really blame Lily for feeling all of this. It was true, things hadn't been good, so far. And she hoped that James could put some sense into Sirius, because none of them would be able to hold back much longer if the man kept attacking Al and Scorpius like that.

Lily was so lively and brave on most situations, so she and the others sometimes forgot that the girl was just 12 years old and this wasn't a situation where any 14 year olds, such as her should be in, never mind a 12 year old, despite how mature she could act.

"No one faults you for feeling this way, Lil." Rose assured her. "We won't let Al be mistreated again. And remember that he said he may know something about our situation? Even if it's not clear to him yet, you know that if someone can figure it out it will be him. You'll see, we'll be back in our time, listening to a lecture by grandma in no time, okay?"

Lily stared at her for a few moments, before suddenly grinning and nodding, every trace of distress vanishing as if they were never there, making Rose laugh fondly at her cousin.

"C'mon, let's go and see what the boys are up to."

They got up and returned to the big table, where many people had chosen to sit again. James, Fred and Louis were, not to their surprise, in the middle of everything, clearly the center of attention, sitting on the top of the hard surface. Sitting on the chairs, near them, were Sirius, Dom, Mad-Eye and the Hogwarts teachers, minus Snape, who was still talking to Kingsley, now joined by Arthur. Molly was already cooking dinner, as it was nearing 7:15pm.

The troublemakers were exchanging stories while the teachers and Moody talked quietly. As the girls approached, Dom was delighted.

"Oh finally, you came to save me!" She cried.

The attention turned to them as they laughed and settled between the others.

"Excuse me!" Called James, outraged. "You should feel blessed for getting to hear our discussion. A lot of people think anyone can prank another. But not true! It's an art. It involves wittiness, thinking and… you know, stuff."

"Three more troublemakers in our hands, it appears, Minerva." Dumbledore said quietly to her Deputy, observing the children antics, amused. The woman did nothing but sigh, resignedly.

"I see." Said Dom. "So, I'm guessing, Louis does the thinking, Fred the wittiness, and you the, you know, stuff?"

The others laughed, but James merely bent down and said, "You better watch that attitude, one of these days, you'll find yourself with 68 years of age, and the number of cats to match it." Dom pulled a face at him and he hopped off the table.

"Hi, Minnie." The boy said, sitting down next to her. Dumbledore looked on, chuckling and ignoring the glare Minerva sent to him, before redirecting it to the boy next to her.

"Do I really let you call me that in the future?" She asked, although she was fairly certain that would not be the case.

"You know what? For the sake of fun, let's say you do."

"I thought so." She said.

"So, anyway, I was thinking…"

"Careful, don't hurt yourself." Dom interrupted, before returning to her conversation with Sirius, ignoring the look sent at her.

"As I was saying, I was thinking…" He restarted. "Do you think that, in the future, when I accidentally set fire to your desk you could be a bit more… understanding?"

"Excuse me?!" She shouted, indignantly.

"Never mind, just checking." Lily and Rose laughed with Dumbledore, while Moody snorted.

James checked that Sirius was being entertained by Dom before asking the girls, "Where's Al?"

"Somewhere with Lorcan and Lys." Answered Lily.

"Is he okay?" Asked Fred, worried.

"I think so, or at least I think he will be, if you can keep Sirius from turning on him for something as stupid as his Hogwart's house." Said Rose.

The boys nodded, sparing a glance at Sirius, who was laughing at something Dom had said. James then turned his eyes to Dumbledore, with something akin to expectance.

Dumbledore had been listening to the conversation intently but was confused at James's stare, and answered it with an inquiring one of his own.

"Maybe you should go and check on my brother, sir?" James suggested, although it sounded more like a plea.

The old wizard was even more confused by this, but he had wanted to meet the boy and talk to him, especially after what had happened with Sirius. He didn't know exactly why, perhaps was the fact of the shared named that created some sort of familiarity, or perhaps was the fact that the boy looked so much like Harry, which was drawing him to him. He just knew that he had wanted to comfort the child when he had been mistreated with no reason, and he still wanted. So he smiled at James and stood up, excusing himself and making his way upstairs.

 **7:07pm - Drawing room**

"Alright, Remus, spill." Tonks said, turning to him as soon as the door was closed. "Why do you look so upset?"

"What do you mean, why do I look so upset?!" He cried, balling his fists tightly. "We have a child together at some point in our lives! Why don't _you_ look more upset?!"

"Are you kidding me? I don't think I've ever been this happy!"

"Tonks… Dora… I'm a werewolf, I can't have children." Lupin said, bitterly.

"Well, clearly you end up changing your mind sometime in the future, because about to enter through the door is your son. Our son, Remus." She said, her eyes shining madly, as she took a couple steps forward, gently pressing her hands against Lupin's chest.

Amber eyes softened. He took her hands and stared at her with such indescribable emotion that she was tempted to look away. She didn't.

"What if he's like me?" He whispered, as if scared that saying the word aloud would make them true.

Tonks didn't bat an eye, she immediately responded, "Then we'll be there to help him, support him and love him, Remus. Just as I'll always do for you."

"I'm too old for you, too poor…"

"I'll stop you right there." She interrupted, dropping her hands and taking a step back, setting a hard glare on him. "You know full well that age is relative in the magical world. You are 13 years older than I am, there have been much greater age gaps between couples. I'm a grown woman, who can make her own choices and I don't approve of you trying to make them for me, nor do I approve of you taking me for someone who cares more for gold than for happiness, love and a family."

"That's not what I meant!" He blurt out.

"No, well, that's what you said."

The man's excuses were cut short by a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Tonks called.

Teddy walked in, smiled at his mother and gave a much more tentative smile at his dad. He knew, from what Harry had told him, that his dad had had a hard time accepting his mother and the pregnancy as well, due to his "furry little problem".

Tonks grinned at the boy and even Remus couldn't help returning the smile with one as hesitant as the one he received.

Teddy signaled for the couches and chairs and his parents nodded in response. They each took their places, Teddy and Tonks sitting side by side on the couch and Lupin taking a chair, in front of them.

They stayed in silence for several moments. None of them really knew how to act in this situation and, to be fair, who would?! However, Teddy gathered all his courage and addressed something he knew to be an immediate problem to his dad.

He cleared his throat and said, "I just want to start this by saying that I'm not a werewolf." He directed the statement fully at his father and could see that, as the words settled in, so this much of the panic in the man's eyes. "Although, I do get extremely moody when it's close to full moon and I do prefer my meat red."

Tonks laughed and Lupin couldn't seem to hold his chuckle, although his seemed to hold relief as well as amusement.

"Can you tell us about yourself?" Tonks asked, her demeanor much more relaxed now that Remus seemed to have come to terms with his feelings for Teddy; he was looking at the boy with as much curiosity as she was, so that was something, she supposed.

"Sure." He smiled. "Let's see. You already know I was a Gryffindor and now I'm an Auror, graduated from the Academy last year. I started academy one year after I graduated from Hogwarts, as I had wanted to travel and rest some, before going into intensive training. I was Prefect, as well as Head Boy, though I caused my part of mischief. I never played Quidditch, in fact I'm pretty awful at it and I prefer to have my feet set on the ground. I have a girlfriend, who happens to be Bill's oldest daughter, her name is Victoire. I don't really know what else to tell you…"

"Do you have any siblings?" Teddy was surprised when it was his dad who asked this, and it was with a heavy heart that he answered softly in the negative.

Tonks didn't seem to come up with anything and, to be quite honest, she very much wanted an answer to a certain question, so she decided to ask it, "Are we good parents?"

Teddy said nothing. He was uncertain of what to do, to tell his own parents that they didn't live long enough to even celebrate his first anniversary, or to lie to them and keep the lie for as long as their staying was. The former seemed the most sensible and yet, he knew it would hurt, to see their faces, and just when his dad seemed to be accepting him. But then again, for the latter, it seemed incredibly hard to keep a lie such as this for what could very well be an extended period. Not only that but the others would have to play along with it, and he would have to act as though he actually knew his parents and as if he wasn't in awe everytime he looked at them.

On the other hand, telling them of their future death could have huge altercations, they could decide to try and change it, and while we would love to have his parents with him, he knew he would be risking everything should that happen.

"Teddy?" He heard his mum calling, gently. He had to tell the truth, he couldn't lie to them. He could barely talk to them without stuttering. And, anyway, he'd never been very good at lying, his hair had even betrayed his, sometimes, by turning into a shade of blushing red.

He sighed, how the hell was he going to do this?

 **7:20pm - Second floor, Bedroom**

Dumbledore went in the direction of the voices. He knocked and waited for permission to enter, which was quickly granted.

He entered the bedroom and let his eyes travel around, letting them rest for more than a moment on the boy who shared his name. Smiling, he watched as the boys changed looks between them.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting." He said, clasping his hands behind his midnight blue cloak. "I was hoping to catch a word in private with Mr. Potter, but if it is inconvenient, I shall return at a later time."

They said nothing but their eyes moved to Al, who had been watching the wizard talk, with a guarded expression. As he stared at his friends, he knew they were asking for his permission to leave or if he'd rather the headmaster to do so. Finally faced with the choice, he couldn't imagine himself turning down the man as he'd wanted to in the first place, so he finally nodded at his friends.

"Sure, Professor, he's all yours." Lorcan said. And together with his twin, he left, merely nodding in response to Dumbledore as he said, "Thank you, Mr. Scamander."

Only Dumbledore, Al and Scorpius remained now. The old wizard was about to ask the blond if he'd want to stay for the conversation when Al pronounced himself, amused, "You don't have to stay, you know? I'll let you know if I need rescuing." And he sat up and gently touched the other boy's arm.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked, hesitantly.

Al merely nodded and smiled at him. Scorpius allowed his lips to quirk up long enough for only Al to see and briefly put his hand on the other's knee, before standing up and saying, "I'll be outside."

"You really don't…"

"I know. The world doesn't spin around you." The boy said rolling his eyes, but with an amusement twinkle going off in them. "But I'd rather not to go back to that kitchen alone, thank you very much. They'll eat me alive."

Al smirked and merely said, "Alright, then."

Scorpius went to the door after nodding to the Headmaster, and closed it behind him.

Finally, there were only Albus and Al in the room. They stayed in silence for a long time, neither really knowing what to say.

On one hand, Al was extremely nervous. He had never had an actual face-to-face conversation with the man before, and he was fearful. Even though he had never met him, he had talked to him innumerous times through his portrait, and he was more than fond of the wizard and he knew that, should they had had the same conversations while Dumbledore was still alive, he would be fond of him in return too, at least he liked to think so. Well, to be fair, the portrait had expressed his fondness. There were only a few portraits, mainly those who held prestigious people, or those who had been dearly paid for, that could hold true emotions. And the portrait he had talked to so many times was one of those. So, that being said, he was afraid that perhaps this Dumbledore, who was, in a way, the real Dumbledore, wouldn't like him. Especially with what had happened downstairs.

On the other hand, the powerful wizard who stood in front of the child was nervous as well. But, unlike Al, he didn't quite understand the reasoning behind his nerves. He knew that he had been drawn to the kid from the moment he laid eyes on him, probably because he was so like his father, who was, known by all, something akin to his protégé. The second thing which had drawn him, perhaps not so much for the boy but for Harry, was the child's name. It truly was an incredible honor to have Harry name his second born after him. And finally, the last thing that had attracted his attention in the boy was the boy himself. The way he acted, talked. He had always prided himself on being able to read someone's intentions, even without the help of Legilimency. He had watched him, as well as the other travelers for any sign of lies or evilness. He had found none, not to his surprise. But even with so little contact, it had been enough to understand their characters, although he couldn't help focusing more on the boy in front of him. Again, he had found his to be so like his father. Kind, supportive, wanting to stand for what is right, no matter what. And yet, he was also different… how very intriguing. Not only that, but he had seen the boy avoiding his eyes more than once, or caught him staring just to turn his eyes away once he was caught. That led Dumbledore to believe that somehow, there was a story between them. And from the signs, it wasn't necessarily a good one, which made him want to get to know Al more, and understand what had happened and how he could fix it.

Well, he was the adult, so he should be the one starting, Dumbledore decided. But before he could, Al spoke.

"Hi."

Albus smiled at the boy and inclined his head in his direction. "Hello. May I sit?"

Al nodded and the headmaster took a seat in the bed across, so they were sitting face to face.

"Thank you, for agreeing to talk to me, I have been looking forward to this."

"Why?" Al asked, confused. He forced himself to meet the man's eyes. The eyes of the man whose body was "currently", lying in the grounds of the school he had devoted his life to. This was… weird, to say the least.

"Well, I can't help but think that we have some type of history, perhaps? I seem to make you uncomfortable. So, of course, I was curious and anxious to fix it, if I can." Dumbledore explained. "And also… I already had a wish to get to know you, if I'm being completely honest."

"Because I'm Harry Potter's son or because I'm named after you?" Al asked, choosing to ignore the first part of what the man said.

"I believe both…" Dumbledore admitted, smiling and staring at him from above his half-moon glasses. "But also none."

Al couldn't help his eye-roll, as he looked at Dumbledore, and asked, amused, "You haven't changed much, have you?"

The man chuckled and answered, "I don't think I ever could, my boy."

"Good."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Will you tell me what seems to be afflicting you?" He asked.

"I'm not sure I can. I don't know how many revelations we can make before time-space continuity is actually disrupted." Said Al. "And, to be fair, we have made some pretty big revelations."

"Well, not to brag myself, but I am a fairly trained and, admittedly, one of the wisest wizards currently alive. I find myself more than capable to come up with something that will not allow that to happen. I will even subject us all to Obliviation, if I can put your mind to rest, right now."

Al laughed, the man really hadn't changed at all. Now, how was he to say this?

"We know each other, in my time." He started. "But not exactly how you would think…"

Dumbledore said nothing, simply stared at the boy, silently waiting for him to continue. Al sighed and gave up on maintaining eye contact, finally looking down at his hands, his heart constricting painfully.

"I know you because of your portrait."

"I see." The man said, seemingly deep in thought. "Although, I have to say, we seem to be more familiar than the mere occasional chat in the, what I assume, is in your time, the headmistress office. Not that I am underrating your ability to cause trouble that will have you landed in Minerva's office, of course."

"Well, no, I met you through that portrait but we have become… closer, through a different one."

Dumbledore opened his mouth to enquire further, but was cut short as a misty leopard showed up, carrying James's voice with it, "Dinner's ready, you have 2 minutes before we start without you."

"Charming." Al mumbled under his breath.

"Your brother can produce a corporeal patronus. That is truly remarkable." Dumbledore praised.

"Lily can too, our dad was very insistent on having us learn it from an early age."

"But you can't?"

"I can, its shape is not just very clear, and I can't hold it for a long period of time. Anyway, we should go." He finished, although he was hesitant to leave.

"Perhaps we could continue our conversation after dinner?" Dumbledore suggested.

Al though for a second before agreeing, "Alright. And, I'm sorry, about everything."

Dumbledore considered him for several moments before moving forward and placing his hand on Al's shoulder. He could see the boy opening up for him, but he was still extremely guarded. Al's eyes immediately snapped up at the contact, and there was an undefinable emotion going off in his eyes, one that the grown wizard couldn't help but smiling at.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I have always believed that, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. And as sorry as I am to leave the world, and all those I care for, there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that I'll get to experience it."

Al said nothing, although, if he had opened his mouth, if would have been to disagree with the man and possibly argue with him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it at the moment, so he chose to head for the door, outside of which Scorpius was waiting, sitting with his back against the wall, knees bent, and wand spiraling, creating dancing lines, which he was using as form of entertainment.

* * *

Another chapter, and for some reason they keep getting longer... I'll try and prevent the next one from reaching 10k words, promise.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I tried to write it in a slightly different way, as I wanted to have different conversations happening at different times. This was the first time I attempted this, so please let me know if it turned out alright or if it's absolutely awful, ty :) also, any errors you detect, I would appreciate you letting me know so I can correct them as soon as possible. I read this like 3 times to ensure there were none but, just in case!

Thank you to all of you who've been sticking around, or if you're new to this story, welcome! and a special thanks to those who faved, followed and reviewed! Thank you sooo much, you guys always make my day!

That's all for now, hope you're having the best day, filled with cute dogs!

All the love, M.


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